Long Beach public would bet on high oil prices to keep city services

But Councilman Steve Neal used a unique tool in the 9th District Budget Townhall this week to engage the community.

On Thursday, he asked residents to cast votes on a particular piece of the budget puzzle.

Each of the 50 or so North Long Beach residents who attended the meeting was given a small piece of colored adhesive tape when they entered, with a cryptic, "it's a part of the meeting" from staff members.

Neal has been a proponent of using oil revenues to maintain services in the city, particularly in parks, libraries and police. City officials must cut $17.2 million from the general fund in the next fiscal year.

Officials are budgeting oil revenue at what they say is a conservative $65 per barrel from local oil producers, though it is currently selling for $105 per barrel. At the end of the year, if the price of oil remains above $65, Long Beach will get some extra revenue.

However, if the price of oil dips below $65, Long Beach has to pay the shortfall.

Neal says the $65 per barrel of oil is too low and he took his case to the people at the budget meeting. Under Neal's math, if Long Beach adds to the money it receives per barrel, it can pay for many of the lost services.

It is a plan Mayor Bob Foster has vehemently opposed, saying the price of oil is highly volatile. Three years ago, Foster said the per-barrel costs dropped from $135 to $25 in a three-month period.

That kind of drop could lead the city to financial ruin, in Foster's view.

Thursday night, however, the people seemed willing to gamble. At the end of the meeting, they took their colored circles of tape to an easel Neal had that showed what services he believed could be saved at different price points for oil.

About $75 was the runaway winner.

Neal said Thursday's exercise with oil revenue was designed to make the community part of the discussion.

"We're running a community empowerment model," Neal said.

Neal said he meant the demonstration with the tape to highlight a different way of looking at the budget, rather than just making cuts to essential services.

"If we're going to stave off devastating cuts to the citizens, then we have to shift the conversation," he said.